Courtney Cole
I’ve been following Courtney Cole since the release of her EP Earthquake. I’ve always loved her voice and her honest songwriting. “Spiritual” is my favorite song of this project.
Today she has a new song out, it’s called “light” and it introduces Courtney’s new sound. Produced by Cameron Stymeist, the new single is an empowering record inspired by nature. “light” is a healing experience.
I’m so glad I got to catch up with her and I hope you will enjoy reading this interview. Thank you so much Courtney !!
“light” is now available worldwide.
Hi Courtney, how are you? What have you been up to since our first interview?
Hi V! I am doing very well, thank you! It's great to chat with you again! Wow.. What a loaded question! I have been up to so much... writing new music, and studying sound healing! Sounds simple, but it's been a very busy time.. and very exciting!
"Light" is your new single - what's the story/inspiration behind this song?
"Light" was inspired by nature.. it was written while I was sitting by the ocean and it came to me as a poem. I took my phone out of my pocket and immediately started writing down the words that came to me, and I don't think I edited them at all. It felt like a very stream of consciousness type of writing.. After I wrote down the poem, I went home and sat at my piano and turned on my voice recorder, and the first melody I sang became the song! It felt very divine and organically inspired. When we officially recorded it, we did so in 528hz, which is an ancient healing frequency present throughout nature, as opposed to the standard tuning 440hz, so it has an energetic healing property to it as well. To me this song feels like coming home to who we are in connection with nature because we ARE nature.
What did you feel when writing this song?
I felt free. Free in my creative expression, and free in my soul in connection with nature and all that I am in connection with nature.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this single? Who helped you create it?
"Light" was produced by my dear friend Cameron Stymeist. Cameron produced everything on my last EP "Earthquake" as well. He is incredibly talented and lets me experiment with so many things within my music. I sent a very rough demo that I created to Cam with an idea for the song, and then he took it and made it sound 1000 times better! During the pandemic, Cameron moved to Utah, so we recorded the vocals over Zoom, which was my first experience doing so, and it turned out great! However, you don't realize how noisy your house is until you try to record intimate vocals in it! HAHA
What made you want to include sound healing in this song?
Music has an incredible power to heal people not only emotionally and energetically as well. I am a big quantum physics nerd, and I've learned through the many documentaries that I've watched that at a fundamental level, everything is made up of vibration. Our cells are vibrating at a particular frequency and are holding us together in this physical form. The tree is vibrating, the table is vibrating, the cup is vibrating. So when you get down to the heart of it, we are all a part of a beautiful cosmic symphony. 528hz in particular, is an ancient frequency that was used to heal ailments in the body.. to repair DNA.. and to raise consciousness. It is also present throughout all of nature, which dubbed it the name "The Love Frequency," because it's so unifying. The idea is that people are not only healed by my lyrics and choice of melodies, but on a deep, connected soul level. I want “Light” to create a holistic healing experience that energizes the mind, body, and soul.
What made you want to release "Light" as a single?
"Light" is the first single of a whole new project of music. I chose it as the first one because it sets a new tone for the direction that I am headed these days. It's upbeat, fun, healing, and free!
What do you want people to feel when listening to this song?
I want it to bring some sort of healing to their spirit in whatever way they need it to. We get so chained down by our circumstances, our past, our childhood beliefs and conditionings that we forget how free we can be when we consciously choose to heal ourselves and make different choices. I hope whoever listens is reminded of that healing and freedom.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
The hardest part is figuring out the true meaning of success. We can think that success looks like selling millions of records and winning awards, but there are so many artists who are doing that that are miserable. Validation doesn't come from instagram, Facebook, or TikTok... it comes from within. When you can own your true mission in this industry and express the art that is truly in your heart, that's success... that's freedom.. and that's happiness. The best part is when you actually remember that and live with that intention because THE BEST, MOST ENJOYABLE work comes from that place.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I gotta be honest... sometimes the music industry today feels like the McDonalds of music. It's overly processed, mass produced, and lacking soul nutrients. If I could change one thing, it would be for artists to not crave fame, but crave change and intention in their art. This is when we will claim this industry back!
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
To trust my intuition. That divine guidance has been right too many times.. I've ignored it a lot, but the more and more I listen to it, my path unfolds into a beautiful journey. It might not always be in the right timing that I think it should be, but it always makes sense in the end.
October is mental health month - what message do you want to deliver to anyone struggling with mental health?
You're not alone. Reach out to the community around you, even if it feels embarrassing or hard. There are people out there going through a lot of the same things that want to know they aren't alone either. Finding support and encouragement in the times we feel we are struggling the most might be the greatest gift.
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